Nine races were sailed in both Gold and Silver fleets. Conditions were light and variable winds from the northeast around 5 knots. The air temperature was 75 degrees and the water temperature was 77 degrees. Congratulations to all 27 teams for extremely competitive sailing. Big Congrats to our SAISA sailors from Wando High School who won Silver Fleet: Nicholas Valente & Austin Winkler

We had 15 teams at this weekends past regatta out of our sailing center- these are record breaking numbers! Thanks to Coach Ryan Hamm, Dan and Liisa Machowski, Frank, Ruppert, Mark and other committee members on mark boats.
Regatta Results

The SAISA Great Oaks Qualifying Regatta was hosted by USF St. Petersburg on Oct 3-4, 2009. Eighteen teams were divided into groups, rotating between FJs and 420s, in an effort to have each school compete against every other school in both types of boats. The wind was not cooperative, and only 11 of the 20 scheduled races were completed. Tidal current were quite strong all weekend, and winds were very light, 3-6 knots, resulting in miserable sailing conditions, with temps climbing above 90.

Congratulations to Nick Valente and Austin Winkler of the Wando Sailing Team, who placed 2nd, one point out of 1st place! These sailors will now advance to nationals, November 14-15 held at the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans.

This past Saturday, Charleston Community Sailing opened our facilities for young sailors to participate in the Annual Leukemia Cup Regatta. Academic Magent, Ashley Hall and Bishop England were represented on the the Junior Course, while lots of other young sailors moved to the big boat fleet. It was a frustrating day with VERY light air and with lots of current. The Junior Course was able to get 1 race off.

Following sailing we all headed to the Gaillard Auditorium for awards, specifically the Father Kelly Cup. The Father Kelly Cup is a perpetual trophy given annually in memory of Monsignor Robert K. Kelly, whose service to both Bishop England High School and the Charleston community touched many lives during his 50 years as a priest. Throughout his life and even during his illness with leukemia, Father Kelly modeled the way we all should strive to live our lives in sports competition and within our local and world community. To receive the award, one high school sailing team in the Charleston community must exemplify three qualifying team requirements: team sportsmanship throughout the year, team success in the Leukemia Cup Regatta and team charity in raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This year, Academic Magnet High School Sailing Team met all three criteria to receive the 2009 Father Kelly Cup!